-Down to Earth Food Corporation of India storages are spilling from excess food stocks and the new Kharif procurement season is only a month away The Union government was mulling over selling excess foodgrains to some African countries before the new Kharif procurement season starts next month, according to a government official. “There is a plan under consideration to use foodgrains as diplomatic tools for African countries like Ghana, which is a net...

Almost one in every five suicides in the world is committed by self-poisoning with pesticide, which mostly occur in rural, agricultural areas of low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), states a new publication entitled 'Preventing Suicide: A resource for pesticide registrars and regulators'. Published jointly by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the booklet says that the adoption of green revolution technology...

-Down to Earth India’s homegrown dairy industry would require a support of around Rs 8-10 per kilogram of milk if the government allows import of dairy products from New Zealand and Australia under RCEP The Union government would not take any decision against the interests of homegrown cooperatives and private dairy companies as far as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) was concerned. This was the assurance given by the Union Ministry...

-Down to Earth A key paragraph has been proposed for deletion in the draft declaration The Delhi Declaration, to be finalised and released on September 10, 2019, at the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification’s (UNCCD) Conference of Parties (CoP) 14, might downplay many issues like the role of the international financial institutions and forest ecosystems. A draft of the Delhi Declaration has been accessed by Down to Earth. The draft is currently...

-Down to Earth Up to 168,000 people kill themselves by ingesting pesticides annually, it said Pesticide accounted for as many as one in every five suicides across the world, a recent World Health Organization (WHO) report on suicide prevention has said. The report titled Preventing Suicide has been published in the form of a resource for pesticide registrars and regulators to educate them on how to prevent suicides due to pesticide consumption. The report...